Reviews by xk6m6m5x:

More User Reviews:

A: Pours an almost perfectly pitch black color. The head is two fingers high, with a khaki shade. Retention is quite good, and some lacing sticks to the glass.

S: Yep, I'm loving all the dark chocolate in this. There are additional twinges of dark fruits, graham cracker, and caramel, all balanced by a slightly piny touch. Not hugely deep, but still a really nice nose.

T: It starts off just like the nose indicated - dark chocolate, graham cracker, caramel, and dark fruits come through vividly. The finish, however, is quite bitter with tones of roast and tobacco-like hops. There's also a kiss of alcohol I didn't quite expect (I'm so used to beers in the 9% range covering the booze perfectly), too. The booze gives it a nuancing touch of dark fruit, creating a reasonably complex yet dry imperial stout.

M: It starts off with a full, sweet feel; but it finishes dry and hoppy. It's one of the few dark beers I'd call refreshing - and that's a great thing. There isn't a lot of carbonation, instead relying purely on the dryness to cleanse the palate. And it works.

O: The tale of two stouts: one sweet and desert-y, the other bitter, dry, and almost refreshing. This is a manly drink: big, bitter, and even a touch harsh. But in a good way! I could totally imagine Catherine the Great (read: the manliest Czar ever, so manly she was a woman) drinking something like this while being boinked by Denis Diderot.

I cannot speak highly enough about this double stout! If you are looking for a mature, refined adult beverage for your discriminating palate... I highly advise and heartily encourage this one! I would go on about all the usual reviewing points, but where would that leave your adventurous expectations?

8.8%ABV per label,this new gem to NC poured a jet black no light showing thru this puppy in my 22 oz nonic a frothy one finger light mocha colored head atop.A whole lot going on in the nose dark fruit,charred wood,dark roast coffee,and a bit of leafy hop.This beer is mabey now mabey is one of the new standards of the style I mean the flavors just hammer the taste buds...in a good way of course.Its roasted to the hilt and with a real smoky character but has a sweet dark fruit element to go along with some bitter chocolate and even a touch of vanilla in the finish all along keeping its big roasty-earthy base.Wow this beer blew me away I knew it would be good but this is awesome!One of the best beers of any style to come my way in a real long time.

Appearance - This is a very dark brown in color with burgundy edges and a decent head.

Smell - The aroma here shows a lot of depth. A beautiful South American coffee smell defines the bouquet and the heavily-roasted malt makes an excellent complement. There is a very light smoky aroma as well that I really enjoyed once I found it. The smells themselves are original but they are of very high quality.

Taste - The flavor adds a dash of chocolate to the qualities of the smell and just enough alcohol to peak one's interest. The malts come on a bit bigger at the taste as well. And again the apparent high quality of the ingredients is what makes this one stand out from the pack.

Mouthfeel - I'm calling this medium-bodied but it's on the heavier side of that definition. The slight alcohol doesn't sting the mouth but it's just enough to notice. The key IMO to this terrific mouthfeel is the balance. It's not especially carbonated, and the lean towards flatness in congruent with the flavors.

Drinkability - You never want to guzzle a big beer like this, but I swear this went down quicker than just about any other sample of the style I've had before. This is just a damn good-drinking dark brew and another winner for this accomplished brewery which is highly-regarded in the beer community.

Pours a deep, menacing black color, even more black than expected - the head is a deep-ass tan color and it lasts almost forever, leaving thick, chunky lacing all the way to the top of the glass.

The aroma is nice, soft, and pleasing. It isn't long and drawn out or overly-complex - rather, it's a simple constitution of roasted malts, light cocoa, and creamy, sweet java. So elegantly balanced and executed delicately to provide a smell that is both delicious and satisfying without being abrasive or cumbersome. I just hope the balance and simplicity on the nose is an indication of how this one will taste...

...and luckily, it is. The taste is a carbon copy of the aroma, only in palatable form. A dense and roasted river of chocolate malts flows to the back of your throat with seemless simplicity and finesse unlike any other. Touches of bittersweet (more so on the sweet side) mocha and creamy java coffee beans stretch out to the edges of the palate - this beer does nothing but get better as it warms up, too.

Nice sweetness throughout, however not sweet enough to be considered a "milk" or "sweet" stout, and it's balanced by a touch of bitterness from the roasted malts and maybe even a bit from the hop bill. The 8.8% ABV isn't noticeable at all, and it's a good range to make this beer highly quaffable without having to feel guilty about tackling a huge alcohol filled endeavor. Silky, creamy body, not quite "thick", good level of carbonation.

Expectations weren't necessarily "high" for this beer (actually, I didn't have really any expectations at all), but I was more than pleasantly surprised. This went down so smooth - it was super delicious and pleasing to drink. Excellent take on "simplicity done right" with nearly perfect balance. Boom, roasted.

12oz bottle poured into a standard pint glass. Pours a thick vicious black w/ a big dark mocha head and very sticky lacing. Very very good looking stout.

I'm picking up scents of milk chocolate, cocoa, and a slight amount of coffee/expresso. There's also a little vanilla in the mix. I can pick all of that up in the flavors. Very bold, dark chocolate is abundant, slightly bitter, but a sweetness remains.

Mouthfeel is okay .. would have liked it a bit thicker and creamy, but it was well carbonated and remains light.. finishes great. Drinkabilty was surprisingly high. It's hard to stop drinking. Very enjoyable Imperial Stout!

What a nice beer; one of the prettiest I've tried. In a tulip the beer was near black in color with a light brown head. The head lingered well, and left abundant lace.Aroma a little timid. Roasted malt, liocorice, and chocolate.The aroma came through much, much better in the taste. Espresso, dark chocolate, and a hint of licorice.The flavors went well together, and produced a really smooth beer.

Poured from the bottle into a tulip.Pours a deep, dark brown that lets virtually zero light through with a dark tan, creamy head.The aroma is big chcoloate and roast coffee notes, a bit of dark fruit and a hint of burnt toast.The taste is big and very bold. Big, dark chcololate, roast coffee, wood char, and a lingering and dry bitter bite at the finish. there is also an acidic and harsh note in that finish that is not pleasant on my palate. A little booozy as well.Mouthfeel is medium.Overall, some nice things going on but doesn't seem a coherent whole and there is a bit of a burnt taste that I'm not fond of. There are much better Imperial Stouts in the same price range.

A - Pours pitch black with two fingers of brown head. Head has great retention. Oily, viscous pour. Looks good.

S - Chocolate, coffee and some dark dried fruits. Nose is a bit boozy as well. Chocolate is mostly bittersweet but a bit of sweet milk chocolate comes through as well. Also a faint cola aroma. Very nice.

T - Smooth roasted malts, with chocolate, some coffee and just the right amount of char. Faint dried fruits and subtlehops round this out nicely.

M - Silky smooth mouthfeel has a nice initial creaminess, transitioning to dry and bitter on the finish.

O - Very enjoyable stout. Don't know how a fresh bottle would compares, but this holds up well.

12oz bottle. Pours dark brown/black with a big creamy tan head that retains well and laces the glass.

The aroma is sweet grainy chocolate malts, licorice and some lactose and roast. Weird floral notes come out as it warms.

The flavor is sweet plasticky lactic chocolate with black licorice and a big roasted char bitter finish that lingers in the aftertaste. The mouthfeel is medium to full bodied with smooth carbonation and a bit oily.

Overall, it just doesn't work for me. The more I sip, the less I like it. It has too many off notes for me - plastic and too much oily char that makes the black licorice unpleasant as well.